1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an optical connector.
2. Related Art
Mechanical optical fiber connectors for the telecommunications industry are known. For example, LC, ST, FC, and SC optical connectors are widely used.
However, commercially available optical connectors are not well suited for field installations. Typically, an adhesive is required to mount these types of connectors on to an optical fiber. This process can be awkward and time consuming to perform in the field. Also post-assembly polishing requires that the craftsman have a higher degree skill.
Also known are hybrid optical splice connectors, as described in JP Patent No. 3445479, JP Application No. 2004-210251 (WO 2006/019516) and JP Application No. 2004-210357 (WO 2006/019515). However, these hybrid splice connectors are not compatible with standard connector formats and require significant piecewise assembly of the connector in the field. The handling and orientation of multiple small pieces of the connector can result in incorrect connector assembly that may either result in decreased performance or increase the chance of damaging the fiber.
Recently, field installable optical fiber connectors have been described. See e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,369,738, U.S. Pat. No. 7,775,726, U.S. Pat. No. 8,118,494, and WO 2009/148797 A1.